Borrell Admitted Possible Introducing New EU Sanctions against Russia

EU Foreign Minister Josep Borrell admitted possible introducing new EU sanctions against Russia due to the situation with Alexei Navalny. Borrell wrote about in his blog after his visit to Moscow. Borrell said the new restrictions could be triggered by a recently approved mechanism to sanction violations of human rights. Borrell once again noted that he had called for the immediate release of Navalny at a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. According to Borrell, Russia's human rights obligations are part of voluntarily assumed international obligations. Borrell noted the aggressive tone of the joint press conference with Lavrov and drew attention to the expulsion of three European diplomats against the backdrop of his visit. "My meeting with Minister Lavrov showed that Europe and Russia are moving away from each other," Borrell wrote. The EU Foreign Minister also noted that the parties discussed, in particular, joint actions in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, the climate crisis, the need for cooperation with Iran in the framework of the nuclear deal. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that it was surprised to familiarize itself with the position of Borrel, published after his trip to Moscow, TASS reported. According to the ministry, the diplomat's statements "strongly contrast with his statements given at the press conference." The Foreign Ministry suggested that upon his return to Europe, Borrell could be told "how the accents should have been placed." Josep Borrell was on a visit to Moscow from 4 to 6 February. On February 2, the Simonovsky Court of Moscow ruled to send Alexei Navalny to a colony. The suspended sentence he received in the Yves Rocher case in 2014 was replaced by three and a half years in a general regime colony. The oppositionist must spend more than two and a half years in prison, taking into account the time spent under house arrest. Until the appeal is considered, Navalny is in a pre-trial detention center. The oppositionist considers his persecution to be politically motivated. The court's decision sparked massive protests in many Russian cities.